Just got my 1st flat. Start of many questions

[Deleted member 92943]

As title, i have today collected the keys to my first flat here in Ashford Kent. Paperwork pretty much all done and the property is officially mine. Its a brand New build and i am the 1st owner of the flat from the builders.

It's a very exciting time but it's all very new to me and im pretty clueless to having my own home.

I have a mortgage in place with Halifax but it's things like Gas/Electricity suppliers ect that im stuck on, so hoping others on here may be able to help

1. Completion date was November 30th which is when a final reading of the Gas and Electric was taken and sent off to British Gas to be paid. From now on, any usage is at my Expense. I assume i dont have to stay with British Gas, but do i stay with them and get an idea of my usage or can i move to another supplier now? What basis can i move to another supplier if i dont know what my usage will even be? Do i have a certain time frame to move from British Gad before being stuck with them?

2. There is a BT Master socket and extensions installed in the property, i assume that wont get a phone number until i call them up and take out Line Rental with BT?

3. As i dont plan to officially move in till late January because i need to decorate the flat, instal flooring and buy furniture (plus i'd like to be home for christmas) am i right that i can apply to be exempt from paying Council Tax because im not sleeping there and it's unfurnished?

4. After i have moved in, i can then apply for a 25% Council Tax discount because i am living on my own?

Im sure i'll have PLENTY of questions as it moves on further, but this will be enough to get my started,

Thanks in Advance

 

[simplicity96]

As title, i have today collected the keys to my first flat here in Ashford Kent. Paperwork pretty much all done and the property is officially mine. Its a brand New build and i am the 1st owner of the flat from the builders.

It's a very exciting time but it's all very new to me and im pretty clueless to having my own home.

I have a mortgage in place with Halifax but it's things like Gas/Electricity suppliers ect that im stuck on, so hoping others on here may be able to help

1. Completion date was November 30th which is when a final reading of the Gas and Electric was taken and sent off to British Gas to be paid. From now on, any usage is at my Expense. I assume i dont have to stay with British Gas, but do i stay with them and get an idea of my usage or can i move to another supplier now? What basis can i move to another supplier if i dont know what my usage will even be? Do i have a certain time frame to move from British Gad before being stuck with them?

2. There is a BT Master socket and extensions installed in the property, i assume that wont get a phone number until i call them up and take out Line Rental with BT?

3. As i dont plan to officially move in till late January because i need to decorate the flat, instal flooring and buy furniture (plus i'd like to be home for christmas) am i right that i can apply to be exempt from paying Council Tax because im not sleeping there and it's unfurnished?

4. After i have moved in, i can then apply for a 25% Council Tax discount because i am living on my own?

Im sure i'll have PLENTY of questions as it moves on further, but this will be enough to get my started,

Thanks in Advance

1. You can move suppliers when ever you want and aren't tied to anyone. Just see who offers the best prices and deals

2. No you wont have a phone number until you ring bt or another company who can supply you a phone line. Again shop round as bt might not be the best for you and I believe they still have a connection charge when you first get the line.

3. I think council tax has to be being paid for you somewhere for this to count. But for this I would just ring the council tax office and get it from the horses mouth as it were to avoid any future bills landing in your doorstep.

4. As soon as you move in speak to the council tax people about your single persons discount. Yes you can have it if living on your own.

 

[imightbewrong]

1/ Unless you are in a fixed-term contract you can switch supplier as and when you please. Have a look at uswitch and/or quidco

2/ Most probably. You don't have to go with BT though - check virgin too (+quidco )

3/ Yes

4/ Yes

 

[qwerty321]

2. There is a BT Master socket and extensions installed in the property, i assume that wont get a phone number until i call them up and take out Line Rental with BT?

You dont have to stick with BT for the phone line and rental.

Decide what broadband you are going to get and base it round there. If you are going with Virgin Media, then you probably want their line rental as well.

Otherwise, there are other options such as Sky and O2 for home phone as well. If you don't anticipate on making many calls from it then O2 seems like a good deal. Only £8.50 line rental a month for a basic line!

 

[dazza74]

As title, i have today collected the keys to my first flat here in Ashford Kent. Paperwork pretty much all done and the property is officially mine. Its a brand New build and i am the 1st owner of the flat from the builders.

It's a very exciting time but it's all very new to me and im pretty clueless to having my own home.

I have a mortgage in place with Halifax but it's things like Gas/Electricity suppliers ect that im stuck on, so hoping others on here may be able to help

1. Completion date was November 30th which is when a final reading of the Gas and Electric was taken and sent off to British Gas to be paid. From now on, any usage is at my Expense. I assume i dont have to stay with British Gas, but do i stay with them and get an idea of my usage or can i move to another supplier now? What basis can i move to another supplier if i dont know what my usage will even be? Do i have a certain time frame to move from British Gad before being stuck with them?

2. There is a BT Master socket and extensions installed in the property, i assume that wont get a phone number until i call them up and take out Line Rental with BT?

3. As i dont plan to officially move in till late January because i need to decorate the flat, instal flooring and buy furniture (plus i'd like to be home for christmas) am i right that i can apply to be exempt from paying Council Tax because im not sleeping there and it's unfurnished?

4. After i have moved in, i can then apply for a 25% Council Tax discount because i am living on my own?

Im sure i'll have PLENTY of questions as it moves on further, but this will be enough to get my started,

Thanks in Advance

1. Shop around, use a site like USwitch to compare rates imo.

2. I think your right, you'll have to call BT as it's a new build and get yourself a number although might be worth waiting until you plan to move in, in saying that broadband can take sometimes a while to get setup so might be worth getting the ball rolling earlier.

3. I think that's right, place I'm living in now sat vacant for about six month's. I can't recall hearing my old man moan during that time so I guess it weren't costing him anything in council tax

4. You can claim a 25% discount if your single occupant on the normal property rate.

 

[dazza74]

3. As i dont plan to officially move in till late January because i need to decorate the flat, instal flooring and buy furniture (plus i'd like to be home for christmas) am i right that i can apply to be exempt from paying Council Tax because im not sleeping there and it's unfurnished?

Ideally, I'd be looking to get in so that you avoid completely paying any council tax for the year 2011/2012 Late Jan / Early Feb ideal. Only start paying council tax from April 1st that way.

 

[Deleted member 92943]

Ideally, I'd be looking to get in so that you avoid completely paying any council tax for the year 2011/2012 Late Jan / Early Feb ideal. Only start paying council tax from April 1st that way.

Not quite understanding this? If i move in late January which is my Target im going to have to pay Council Tax up to March 31st anyway aren't i? There's no way of dodging that so to speak?

With Line Rental, BT are offering 32mb Infinity Broadband to the area so i think i'll go with that rather than Sky (I can live with Freesat) but also pay a years line rental upfront with drops it down to £10 a month. Saves a bit there.

Whats still baffling me is the Energy Providers. I go to Uswitch and say i'll be a low energy user because im in a 2 bed flat, at work throughout the day, so it gives me a quote for Gas/Electric but is that the price i'll pay? What if i use more or less per month?

 

[tricky0001979]

when you move in start a snaging list as most new builds have issues and the builders have a responsibility to rectify any defects that may exist. do that before anything moves in and maybe take photos to document.

 

[wolverine73]

I think that if your the only ADULT living there- you can claim for the 25% discount on council tax
If you had children living with you who were under 16 (18 maybe not sure) then you could still benefit from the discount.

 

[Deleted member 92943]

Thats fine. I'll be the only adult living there so can get the 25% discount until im in a position to rent out my extra room in which case, my Council Tax will of course go back up to the standard price.

 

[houndlegs]

I dont know what youre looking for in terms of phone and internet, but have a look at Primus. We swapped to them a few months back and we pay £16 ( I think ) a month; for line rental, evening and weekend calls and broadband.

 

[mooperman]

first of all congrats on your new flat!

Second of all the bad news.... you have your priorities completely wrong!!

You need to seriously start thinking about the real issues when buying/moving into a new flat, for example;

will that wall hold a 65" plasma

is my room the right size/shape for a PJ with drop down screen

where will i put my huge over sized sub

how will i route the speaker cabling around so that its not on show.

once you have all those questions sorted THEN is the time to think about luxuries such as council tax and furniture....

 

[Deleted member 92943]

Ideally, I'd be looking to get in so that you avoid completely paying any council tax for the year 2011/2012 Late Jan / Early Feb ideal. Only start paying council tax from April 1st that way.

Haha, thanks mate, i got worried after reading the 2nd line.

I have a TV in mind which i want. The Samsung UE46D8000 LED Screen. Sadly my budget for furnishings is so tight it's unreal and will have to prioritised because i was not planning to move for another 7 months.

I have like £3.k currently and an income of £1100 a month so just over £5k by the time i plan to move in. I reckon im looking at £1500 for flooring alone. Carpeting the bedrooms and then laminate in the rest of the flat. I refuse to pay Carpet Right an extra £10 p sq/m to fit it on top of the laminate itself. So need to find a cheaper installer.

£1k on a Washing Machine and Fridge Freezer. My bedroom furniture and sofas i think i'll get from somewhere like Furniture Village who do 4 years intrest Free credit, so at least i can get some decent furniture. Then i reckon easily £1500 on other things like furnishings, TV units ect.


For Broadband, im pretty set on BT. Standard ADSL in my area is 3-5mb where as Infinity is a whopping 32mb download and 10mb upload. Ideal for Gaming, and the needs i have. I also find it reasonably priced.

I've done myself a monthly budget spreadsheet of my in goings and out goings. Squeezed it to the maximum and reckon i'll end up with £430 in savings a month after all my outgoings. Im sure there's stuff i've missed though.

Really need to rent the extra room out to a close friend which i reckon could bring me in £60-£65 a week.

 

[GBDG1]

For your furniture, take a look at Next. They offer 0% finance. Obviously, only take out finance you can afford to repay, but at 0% you're actually receiving a small discount due to inflation.

Don't mug yourself off with awful furniture. I've made that mistake myself, and you end up hating it and buying again down the road.

 

[DIYlady]

Next is quite pricy for first buy. Most people haven't found their own taste when they move into first home so can make sense to buy the basics faintly cheaply and upgrade later. Dwell are quite good value for money. Idea cheaper but pick and choose carefully to avoid the real tat

 

[GBDG1]

Next is quite pricy for first buy. Most people haven't found their own taste when they move into first home so can make sense to buy the basics faintly cheaply and upgrade later. Dwell are quite good value for money. Idea cheaper but pick and choose carefully to avoid the real tat

When i looked a few months ago, next were quite cheap. Sofas started around £300.

 

[skhan786]

Go with sky for the phone line get phone, Internet and TV If you want

 

[DIYlady]

When i looked a few months ago, next were quite cheap. Sofas started around £300.

I stand corrected then. I remember their furniture being much more pricy!

 

[FZR400RRSP]

With regard to furniture, look in the local paper or on eBay.
People change furniture all the time, and rather than spending £300 on what will be a pretty nasty sofa, that same £300 might get you a quality used item.
My first sofa was a used 'ekornes' brand, which I couldn't hope to buy new at that time.
But it was much better quality than my budget would have got me new.
When it came to me changing, I got as much for it as I'd paid.
So in effect I'd had a free sofa!

 

[Berties]

1) With BT I was paying around £8 a month, switched to O2 and overall saved £10 a month on phone/adsl package, compared to BT & Pipex.

You're not forced with BT.

 

[FZR400RRSP]

BTW, £1k for a washing machine and fridge freezer is mental if your budget is tight.
You could half that easily (still new, not used)

 

[Berties]

Yup recently got 9kg washing machine for £300, fridge freezer £250. No need to spend £500 on each.

For Broadband, im pretty set on BT.

O2 are better.

 

[SixNineFourSixSeven]

isn't BT like £30+ a month ???
edit - just checked myself
£28 for unlimited (cough fair usage) on 18 month contract which is £480 a year ! thats a lot for broadband.
edit T&C say its rinsing to £29.40 on 03/12/11 and BT also have network management which means at certain times of the day they will cap your speed during peak times so you won't get 40mb during 4pm-12am and 9am-12pm weekends.
Add your Line rental £120 a year and the fact unless your making more then £3 in calls per month then you get charged for caller i.d (if you want it)
your choice but to me thats a rip off.

you don't have to have BT. You can have Sky handle your line rental for you just ask them to connect you.
Sky line rental - £12.25 = £147 a year plus Sky Talk free time (unlimited calls evening and weekends) £0 compared to BT's basic which is only Unlimited at weekends.
Plus with Sky caller i.d is thrown in free.

 

[NooBish AbbZ 92]

Yup recently got 9kg washing machine for £300, fridge freezer £250. No need to spend £500 on each.



O2 are better.

Our O2 is diabolical

 

[qwerty321]

Our O2 is diabolical

Is it actually your broadband or the router?

Our actual broadband line is great and very stable. The router not so much. I'm on my 2nd router from O2. Was with Be Broadband before that and had similar issues.